WANGANUI JOTTINGS.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1487, 9 July 1912, Page 9

WANGANUI JOTTINGS.

IBt Telegraph.—Special Correspondent.! ' ■" r ', r, - '■ /"'''Wancjah'tii July 8. Tie museum trustees rrcently received.! a pleasant surprise when the trustees of the late Mr. Jno. Duncan forwarded thema- cheque of .£100. ; With this and other generous assistance, tho ■ museum '. will now bo'free of debt. .■:'■; A severe epidemic of mumps is serk ously affecting the attendance at tho local schools. One hundred and forty children are now absent from the Wanganul East School, .which, closed in conse : quence. There n'ro over 100 absentees from thte Gtpnvill School, which will also nrobably : have, to be closed, while I attendances at tlie. other suburban and I town schools and tho two ' colleges are also greatly reduced. \ Tho closing of tho signal station on Durie Hill, besides doing away mth an old landmark, has caused considerable inconvenience to business people and waterside. workers, who have now no reliable means of.ascertaining shipping arrivals beyond ringing up tho pilot, who is now kept,'for a largo portion of his time, answering the telephone harbour. The board's viow was that tho Tesults wero not commensurate with the cost, but a deputation, representing the two sections of the , community referred to, gave some pointed reasons at the board's monthly meeting why the station should be reinstated, and offered if the board would give .£SO per year, that they would undertake to raise a balance required for wages and upkeep from business people. ■This offer the ' board accepted, and, in addition to the convenience to those directly interested, tho fifty-year-old custom of watching for the noonday time ball would probably shortly be revived.